Blog Post

I am seldom at a loss for words. I use the English language professionally. I preach, I teach, and I write blogs. When I am not doing those things, I am reading all kinds of things – news magazines, classic fiction, fantasy and science fiction, and historical novels, in addition to periodicals that challenge my thinking and praxis as a minister of the gospel. At the same time, I am usually rolling around several ideas in my head so that I will be ready to be write about them when the time is right. I am almost never get caught in the headlights of the moment and rendered speechless.

In the aftermath of the recent shootings in Orlando, however, I was stunned beyond words. It was not the massacre at the Pulse nightclub itself that had such an effect on me. While that was an incredible tragedy, I have seen such things before. We all have. In the aftermath of such events, we hear the condolences of those in authority, prayers for the victims and for their families, and the repeated pleas for sensible firearms regulation. I expected all of it; and I heard all of it. What I did not expect to hear, however, was the celebration of the shootings by Christian clergy. Their reaction left me with no words – none at all – just horror and anger.

In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, let me fill you in. Just hours after the carnage in Orlando, Pastor Roger Jimenez of the Verity Baptist Church in Sacramento, California preached a sermon entitled “The Christian Response to the Orlando Murders.” His message? The shootings of the Pulse patrons (all of whom he assumed were gay or lesbian) “helps society”. Orlando, Florida is a little safer tonight. The tragedy is that more of them didn’t die. I’m kind of upset that he didn’t finish the job.” And Pastor Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona commented, “…these homosexuals are a bunch of disgusting perverts and pedophiles… The Bible says that homosexuals should be put to death in Leviticus 20:13… The bad news is that a lot of the homos in the bar are still alive.”

That any clergyperson who claims to represent Jesus Christ would say such things left me speechless. More than that, it left me angry – angry at pastors like these who pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ into a message of hate; and angry at myself, because I have kept silent when I should have been speaking out. We cannot silence all those who proclaim a message of hate against those in our extended LGBTQ family; but we can join our voices in the alternative message that God loves all and that God welcomes all. We can teach our congregations that Bible verses cannot be cherry-picked out of their context and used to justify hatred. Instead, the love of Jesus Christ is the lens through which we must interpret all the rest of the scriptures. We can preach against hate in many forms, but we must especially preach against hate that wraps itself in the Bible like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We can not only welcome our LGBTQ sisters and brothers into our congregations; we must actively speak out on their behalf. Finally, we must join our wider UCC denomination in working for justice for all people, not just the ones who have the same sexual orientation and/or preferences that we do.

The gospel of Jesus Christ demands that we love one another as God has loved us. Hatred has no place in a Christian community that is built on love. While I was stunned into silence by that hate, I have found my voice again; and I intend to lift it up on behalf of the LGBTQ community that is hated so unjustly. And if you share my feelings, I invite you to join me in lifting up your voice, too.

Boundary training will be offered for SONKA ministers at Harmony Creek Church, 5280 Bigger Rd, Kettering, Ohio, on Saturday, October 19th. You choose which of the two sessions to attend, each focusing on three case studies around boundary issues. The first session will be held from 9 a.m to Noon. The second will be from 1-4 p.m. To register for the MORNING session online, please click here. To register for the AFTERNOON sesssion online, click here. To see the flyer click here.